Dr. John R. Wilcox
Vice President for Mission

Dr. John Wilcox serves as the College’s first vice president for mission. A former Marist Brother, he came to Manhattan College in 1974 to join the religious studies department. He taught in the department and chaired it for eight years before becoming an administrator. As vice president for mission, he has developed many programs that bring the College community together to discuss and celebrate its Lasallian heritage.

During Wilcox’s tenure, faculty and administrators have gathered for Lasallian Thursday luncheons each semester. At these luncheons, a speaker, usually a faculty member, discusses a topic related to the life, pedagogy and spirituality of St. John Baptist de La Salle, the history of the Christian Brothers, and developments within the Lasallian world and Catholic higher education. Wilcox always succeeds in gathering a group of colleagues to bond in the Lasallian spirit, even in the midst of busy semesters.

In the 2007-08 academic year, Wilcox, in collaboration with the Lasallian Education Committee under the leadership of Dr. Karen Nicholson, began a program of Lasallian Conversations. These evening conversations focus on what it means to the community to be Lasallian at Manhattan College today. Brothers, faculty and staff who have attended Lasallian formation programs or participate in Lasallian programs on campus are invited to attend the Conversations. These events bring together many different groups from the campus community and have sparked a desire for a more tangible grasp of how the College’s unique heritage is manifested.

Wilcox is also instrumental in bringing stimulating speakers to Manhattan, those who expand on the Lasallian dialogue that already exists on campus. He has secured a number of speakers for the Lasallian Convocation and, in the spring of 2007, he brought to campus an exclusive screening of award-winning documentary filmmaker Martin Doblmeier’s The Power of Forgiveness.

Wilcox demonstrates an enthusiasm for the Lasallian mission and has an inclusive vision of the campus community, which he sees as playing a significant role in the College’s mission. As a result, there is a full roster of Manhattan College participants at the off-campus Lasallian formation programs each year.

Wilcox founded and co-directs the International Lasallian University Leadership Program held at the Christian Brothers Generalate in Rome, Italy. This program, started in the summer of 2007, brings together faculty and administrators from Lasallian universities around the world for a two-week seminar about the life, spirituality and pedagogy of St. John Baptist de La Salle, the Institute of Brothers, the Catholic intellectual life, and trends in Lasallian and Catholic higher education. Wilcox has secured substantial grant monies to cover travel costs for faculty members from Lasallian universities in the developing world.

With all of these efforts, Wilcox has made the position of vice president for mission a driving force in the College’s fulfillment of its own mission.